| Places | |
|---|---|
| Accession Number | ART30254 |
| Collection type | Art |
| Measurement | unframed: 50.6 x 73.6 cm |
| Object type | Painting |
| Physical description | varnished gouache on cardboard |
| Location | Main Bld: World War 2 Gallery: Gallery 2: Aus Threat |
| Maker |
McClintock, Herbert |
| Place made | Australia: New South Wales, Sydney |
| Date made | c. 1943-1944 |
| Conflict |
Second World War, 1939-1945 |
| Copyright |
Item copyright: Copyright expired - public domain
|
Sections of buoyancy tank and floating caissons, Sydney graving dock
Description
Built in the early 1940s to accommodate capital ships, the Captain Cook Graving Dock at Garden Island in Sydney was one of the greatest civil engineering projects in Australia up to that time. Seen as a tremendous strategic manoeuvre for the fledgling nation, it would enable naval operations to be conducted in Australian waters. McClintock applied his social realist style to powerful effect here to convey the enormity of the construction. At the time of his appointment in July 1943, McClintock was already employed by the Allied Works Council (AWC), firstly in an iron foundry and then as a camouflage artist. His commission took him to Pokolbin Aerodrome, Herne Bay, Fish River Dam, Oberon and the Sydney graving dock.